November 8

The Baffled Tempter

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. — Luke 22:31 BSB

Peter went through Satan’s winnowing, but only the chaff in him was blown away. He was left smaller after the winnowing, just as the pile of wheat is reduced when the chaff is blown away, but he was a better man. He lost his rashness, self-confidence, and pride, and came back a humbler man—stronger, more majestic, and ready to be a blessing to the world.

Through Christ’s grace, even a believer’s falls can work for their good. Much of Peter’s later greatness and strength came from this costly lesson. “The oyster mends its shell with a pearl.” Where the wound was, a gem appears, covering the scar and turning it into a spot of beauty. In the same way, true repentance for our sins transforms the weaknesses of our lives into strengths. If we are Christ’s true followers, even our defeats can become blessings. Longfellow, speaking of Peter’s sifting, wrote:

One look of that pale, suffering face
Will make us feel the deep disgrace
Of weakness;
We shall be sifted till the strength
Of self-conceit be changed at length
To meekness.

Wounds of the soul, though healed, will ache.
The reddening scars remain and make
Confession;
Lost innocence returns no more;
We are not what we were before
Transgression.

But noble souls through dust and heat
Rise from disaster and defeat
The stronger;
And conscious still of the
Divine Within them, lie on earth supine
No longer.